The leisure reading habits of undergraduate business students

While literature on undergraduate student reading behavior is prevalent, there has been limited research on subject-specific leisure reading. Additionally, this type of research is often underrepresented in Library and Information Science (LIS) literature, despite its relevance. The authors of this study recognize the value of popular business reading titles. As such, the authors were interested in exploring the perspectives of students studying business to understand current attitudes toward popular reading. Consequently, this study aims to investigate the leisure reading habits of undergraduate business students and how this information can inform aspects of business librarianship. The authors surveyed business students enrolled in a required pre-major business course at Pennsylvania State University. The results reveal that a substantial proportion of business students enjoy leisure reading, often choosing books that align with their academic pursuits and personal interests. However, they frequently forgo reading due to the time constraints imposed by their studies. Overall, this study contributes to the literature on subject-specific leisure reading and seeks to determine whether popular business titles have a meaningful place in academic business libraries. Recommendations are provided on how to integrate such texts into librarianship and how to further investigate popular business titles and leisure reading among academic students.